True Love's Second Kiss
by soprano-in-waiting
Summary: Love turns people into idiots. She was just happy he finally became her idiot. MinaKushi oneshot.


**True Love's Second Kiss**

Written for First Kiss Contest – MinaKushFC

I Don't Own Naruto. (I only wish I owned Minato...*sigh*)

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><p>Minato leapt from branch to branch, following his quarry on the forest floor below. Funny thing about foreign shinobi, they often forgot to look up. This night, he thanked Kami for that small fact. He watched as the trio of Kumo nin prodded the red head forward. His heart clenched as she fell to her knees. The blond could take it no more.<p>

Minato sped up, keeping to the shadows as he crept closer. Swift as the hawk, he targeted the shinobi in the rear without a sound of his presence.

One down.

The crash of their comrade's body into the brush alerted the remaining nin. The two scanned their surroundings, looking for their attacker. A blur darted in from the underbrush, catching a second one by surprise, before once again disappearing.

Two down.

Their captive continued her hopeless journey, never removing her eyes from the dusty trail.

The last nin grasped a kunai, and retreated into the sheltering trees. The brunet hid in the branches, searching for some sign of the wraith that had gotten his teammates.

Seconds passed as a tense silence filled the forest. His hand began to shake. His heart pounded against its cage. Dark eyes barely caught the flash of white at the edge of his vision before he was struck with enough force to fly into a distant tree, knocking him out instantly.

Done with his task, Minato dropped from the trees to the forest floor. It hurt him to see the usually fiery redhead so meek and defeated. She continued on, unaware of her lack of captors.

"Are you hurt?" A soft voice called. She paused. The blond watched as she searched for the owner of the voice. The clouds parted letting the moonlight illuminate the scene. He smiled as relief visibly flooded his crush.

"I came to save you." He explained. Her weak smile lit up her dirtied and bruised face. Minato thought it was beautiful.

With the passing of the crisis, the fatigue from the last few days hit her. Her savior darted forward, catching her before she could hit the dirt.

He cast a glance at the unconscious nin. Mindful of her bruises, he carefully lifted her into his arms. Her indigo orbs marveled as the silvery light caught the red strands in his hands. He could almost hear the unspoken question.

"Your hair is beautiful, so I noticed it right away." He replied with a heartfelt smile, as he started their return journey.

"But…but you ignored me. All those times you could have helped, and you just stood there watching." The Uzumaki whispered, confusion still swimming in her eyes.

"Because I know you're strong enough to fight your own battles." Minato answered, his voice brimming with confidence in her. His brilliant sapphire eyes dared her to deny it.

"But this is a battle between two villages. It's not like anything you've ever done before, so…" He trailed off, a slight blush coloring his cheeks.

"So?" She softly prompted.

"I didn't want to lose you." Minato confessed. The redheaded genin searched the boy's face for any hint of a lie. Finding none, she slowly leaned into his warm embrace before finally falling asleep in his arms.

Minato could have crowed at the sheer amount of trust she was showing him. A silly grin covered his face with no chance of leaving soon, as he continued on into the night.

Within an hour, he had reached the rendezvous point that he had arranged with his sensei. No one was in sight, so he slowly lowered himself to sit against a nearby tree, and settled her in his lap.

Minato brushed some errant strands of that beautiful red hair away from that even more lovely face. Even with the scratches, the sight made his breath catch. Those rosy lips so tempting in their perfection.

A faint buzz brushed the edge of his senses. Someone was coming closer.

The genin gathered his courage. It was now or never. Leaning forward, he gave her a single chaste kiss before quickly withdrawing. That smile returned full force. It was a memory he could cherish for a lifetime.

The faint rustle of leaves announced the arrival of a tall, white-haired man.

"I see you found her." A deep, gravelly voice quietly observed.

"Hai, Sensei." Minato replied, not moving from his position.

"Let's get her back to Konoha." Jiraiya ordered.

The younger male maneuvered himself back into an upright position, trying so hard not to jostle his companion. He ignored the outstretched arms offering to relieve his burden, and finally headed home.

0o0o0o0

Kushina ducked behind a tree, katana in hand as she avoided the lightning jutsu that had been aimed at her. She begged, and pleaded with any deity that could hear that her squad mate had managed to get away to find help.

They had been returning from an arduous mission behind enemy lines when they had been ambushed by the squad of Kumo nin.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she flung herself at the attacking shinobi. Her swift swipe of the blade forced the man to abandon his attack on her comrade.

"Well, well, well….if it isn't the little Uzumaki brat." The brunet calmly taunted. Violet eyes widened in recognition of that smooth baritone.

"You." She spat out, venom dripping from the single word. Kushina held her guard, back to back with her teammate who was now facing down her own opponent.

"So the little witch remembers me. It's a shame we couldn't retrieve you. I would have had so much fun breaking you." He sneered. The redhead shuddered as she felt the vile eyes traveling down her body. She could feel the anger simmering right below the surface. A slow burn scorched her skin.

She charged forward, forcing her tired muscles to comply with her demands. Her former kidnapper parried her blows with his own kunai.

The fight wore on. Kushina dodged the jutsus thrown at her, and attacked when she saw an opening, but her own chakra was beginning to wear thin. The mission itself had tired her out, and now the ambush drained her further. Her chakra fueled strength could not last much longer. She vaulted behind a sturdy oak for cover to catch what little respite she could.

Her heart plummeted as she saw her last remaining ally succumb to a blow to the head. Twin sets of footsteps drew closer as they closed in her location. The Konoha nin gathered her remaining strength, determined not to give up without a fight. She attacked head on.

A cry of agony filled the air, as she managed to deal her kidnapper's compatriot a crippling blow to the arm. Her victory was short lived. An incoming raiton jutsu hit her in the side, throwing her to the churned up ground. Her muscles twitched as the electricity wound its way through her system.

A dark shape entered her field of vision. A lecherous grin covered her attacker's face as he towered over his helpless victim.

"No…"She whispered as she attempted to escape again.

"Looks like you're coming with me after all." He boasted, moving in on his prize.

With a thud, he stopped. A wet cough escaped him. Blood trickled from his lips. Dark eyes widened in surprise as he eyed the tri-pronged kunai planted firmly in his chest.

The last thing he saw was a pair of stormy blue eyes blazing in the shadows.

Waves of relief crashed through her tired frame the moment she saw the blade. Her flaky blond had arrived. A comforting yellow flash appeared at her side.

"Minato." The name escaped her lips, as he gathered her in his arms, and leapt from the bloody battle site.

Finally, they reached a small clearing. With no warning, he captured her lips with his own in a kiss that made her forget everything that had just happened, leaving her boneless in his embrace.

Finally the need for air forced them to separate. Indigo searched blue as a heartwarming smile spread across her face. One edge tilted up in a smirk.

"Why didn't you do that the first time?" She asked, a soft laugh lilting through the words.

"The first time?" Minato questioned, his puzzlement clear.

"Mhmm, I've been waiting years for you to kiss me properly." The red-head threaded her arms around his neck.

He stilled in surprise. Minato was speechless for a moment. His mouth moved, attempting to form words as he stared at his giggling love.

"You weren't asleep, were you?" The blond realized with chagrin.

"Nope," She cheekily replied, twirling a lock of sunshine around her finger.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Why didn't you?" She retorted, staring him down.

Finally the tension was broken as Minato started laughing. Kushina soon joined in, unable to resist that happy sound.

"I've been an idiot, haven't I?" He finally admitted.

"You've always been a flake," She accused, "But at least you're my flake."

Minato pulled her closer, settling her in his lap, as he lowered them to the ground.

"This is familiar." He whispered, bending low.

"Hai, but this time, promise me I don't have to wait years for the next one." Kushina teased.

"I promise." Minato vowed, as he sealed his pledge with a kiss.

_The End_

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><p>AN: I swear I'm almost done with the chapter for K-ANBU! I've just been fighting writer's block and other things, including other plot bunnies that want to hop onto the page. Since I already have enough projects in the works, I've been fighting it tooth and nail to wrangle it back into the cage…

As stated above, this was written for a fanart/fanfiction contest on DeviantArt with the prompt "First Kiss". I had fun writing this, but I think I missed the point, lol.

Let me know what you think!

Soprano-in-Waiting


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